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no back airbox
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 1:44 pm
by carl
Instead of gutting the air box what about just removing the back of it and just have the air cleaner/cover connected to the air tube? Good idea or no?
Then just mount the IPU to the fender where the back of the air box used to sit. and maybe put a mod flap over the connector to keep off the moisture.
The only issue that might arise is if there is any significance of the box related to air flow in cooling the ipu. It doesn't really look like it since there is a removable tube in the box which would isolate the air to going into the motor rather than any real flow over the ip
Re: no back airbox
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 1:50 pm
by 01bonneSC
Cant exactly picture what you are trying to do.
An open element in the engine bay will your performance worse than stock. And the PCM, dont know what an IPU is, is "waterproof" connections are sealed.
Gutting the box is a tried and true way of getting better flow. Or go with a FWI.
Re: no back airbox
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 1:56 pm
by LakevilleSSEi
This sounds alarmingly complicated......
Re: no back airbox
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 9:22 pm
by carl
D-d-danggg its a rough crowd...actually I drove it around all day and it still spins the wheels from a dead stop and getting 23mpg stop/go (plus 10mpg more hwy)...not bad for a 10 year old hoop-de-hoop buick. Actually this mod couldn't be easier... what I did was just unclip the back end of the air box and take it out... leave on the part with the aircleaner attached to the intake tube...your done.
My main concern is the temp of the control unit being exposed in the engine compartmnet. Judging from the heat being generated off it after 3hrs driving I could cook dinner on it. It has to be that the airbox served to deflect some of the engine heat with the control unit being inside that thick black molded plastic. May have t put the fugly airbox back end back on.
Re: no back airbox
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 7:47 pm
by 01bonneSC
Rough crowd what? Just suggesting how to properly do a mod so it looks better than what you have now I'm sure.
That kind of attitude won't go far here.
Re: no back airbox
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 7:59 pm
by carl
?
I'll try post a pic of the way it is.
(And thats 23 mpg with with the ac on).
Re: no back airbox
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 8:00 pm
by LakevilleSSEi
Pics.....because I can't picture much of what you're talking about for sh[]t....Are you pulling the bottom of the air cleaner out, leaving the IAT sensor somewhere in the engine bay?
Re: no back airbox
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 10:10 pm
by 01bonneSC
23 mpg is horrible. You should be in the high 20s.
Re: no back airbox
Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 5:24 am
by LakevilleSSEi
23 with the A/C on and most likely a good mix of hwy/city driving......pretty good in my book if ya ask me.
Re: no back airbox
Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 12:38 pm
by carl
Ohh-tey here beez the pic, and thats 23mpg stop/go with the ac pumping full bore. If you can get me better shout it out brother, every penny counts. I already saved 75$ plus on the saws-all doing nothing to the box... if I keep it this way.
The air cleaner is still in there, where it usually is. I could also run a tube to the fender but don't really need it..I'm not really worried about the intake.. its good and sounds like its charged when it downshifts...
The big question is will the control module take all that deflected heat fom the motor without frying??
http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/tt67 ... C01137.jpg
Re: no back airbox
Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 6:39 pm
by 01bonneSC
You're just sucking in hot air with that, does nothing for performance. Is be interested I seeing what your intake air temps would be. You'd be better off putting it back to stock, imo.
Re: no back airbox
Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 2:56 am
by carl
There is an intake tube to the fender but its not in the pic...I was doing some experimenting and that control unit is cool as ice when its enclosed and the back is on...so the box does isolate it from engine heat. *dang* I hope I didn't kill some of it when it was frying in the engine compartment when I was driving around for hours

... And being 105 degrees outside didn't help. Anyway I'll gut it, and hope it lives on.
Re: no back airbox
Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 3:59 pm
by redzmonte
my ecu is not in the box anymore on my last 3 cars. no problems... it doesnt get hot enough to hurt anything. if you look for the S10 PCM tray it will allow you to secure it down and looks nice and OEM cause is a OEM GM part. You can kinda see it in my pic here:

Re: no back airbox
Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 8:36 pm
by Night Crawler
Definitely just sucking hot air, this would be good for winter since the FWI sucks in really cold conditions. I take my 9" FWI filter and mount it to the intake this was i am sucking hot air in, in the winter. Engine warms up faster and better gas millage.
Re: no back airbox
Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:48 pm
by carl
Well that makes me feel a little better..but that heatsink was really hot... like a stovetop. And in the engine compartment there is no where for it to dissapate. Wonder how they're rated for heat?
Re: no back airbox
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 1:23 am
by Night Crawler
Mine sits on the tray where the air box used to sit, under the FWI hose. Haven't had any problems yet. And I just finished driving to Pittsburgh and back a few weeks ago (4500 kms round trip)
Re: no back airbox
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 1:06 pm
by 01bonneSC
Dont worry about the heat of the PCM, it wont affect it. EVERYTHING in the engine bay gets hot when it all is heat soaked.
Re: no back airbox
Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 7:51 pm
by redzmonte
also keep in mind when the car is moving there is air flowing under the hood, heat soak normally happends when the car is stopped. either way i don't know anyone who has had a PCM fail from under hood temps. and many factory PCM's are just out in the open anyhow... like the S10 tray keeps it out..
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